Bob Owens

At home on the range

Written By: Bob
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Jul•
17•12

Appleseed Project students and instructors during a course of fire at the RWVA home range. RSO with the spindly legs in middle distance is the author. Photo courtesy RWVA.

I spent my first weekend as an official Instructor-in-Training (IIT) at the RWVA home range in Ramseur, NC, working as a range safety officer (RSO) on Saturday and as the Line Boss calling the course of fire on Sunday.

The only thing that frustrates me about Appleseed is my apparent inability to convey the experience to those who haven’t attended. There are other shooting classes around the country that will have instructors with far more impressive pedigrees. There are historians who know far more detail about the events of April 19, 1775, and can recite why that day was the genesis of what became this great nation.

What you will have to search long and hard to find are a cadre of volunteers that have such passion for our nation’s history and our future, who dedicate one or more weekends a month to mentor their fellows Americans about the sacrifices made for our liberty, and impart the skills of marksmanship that helped us win and defend this nation.

It is an experience I haven’t been able to adequately describe, but one you can easily experience.

There are Appleseed Project events in all 50 states. Find one near you, and get to know your country for the first time, again.